Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Manual to Automatic Swap or New truck?

[CrewCabDiesel]

I am looking for some input here on whether to replace my truck or see if a manual to automatic transmission swap is is the way to go. Here are some of the specs not listed in my signature.

I have had my truck since September 13th, 2002 (yes I bought it on Friday the13th) and it has been a great truck but... . my knees are fried and pushing the clutch is really getting too much to bare :{ . I have put a ton of money in upgrades, you name it, and this truck has it. I change oil every 6000 miles using 5-W40 Full synthetic oil since 60K miles and it uses about little over a quart of oil. Truck runs 70 psi oil pressure at highway speeds all day long. Last Dyno put it a little over 450 rwhp and this will still set up back in your seat!:-laf

I just replace the orginal VP44, new water pump, new belts/hoses, new Fluid balancer at 230,000 miles. The transmission was replaced with a top of the line new and upgraded NV4500 with a cast iron trail shaft and large input shaft @220,000 miles also I change the clutch and upgraded to a South Bend heavy duty clutch master/slave cylinder assy.



So, should I trade up to a third gen and start over with upgrades or do a trans swap? Also how will a Automatic hold up to my upgrades?

Also has any one else done a Manual to automatic trans swap ?

Thanks

Kyle

 

[ILIANBG]

It's hard to say knowing you have so much invested in your truck. It's kind of personal.
If it was me, I will look for another truck- one that really fits my needs (in your case-auto, and probably 4WD, 2 or 3 gen... , the list goes on).
What might happen if you trying to do the swap is- start pouring money into something you are not 100% sure that will run right.
But again, that's my input on it. Everyone's different and have his own opinion.
Good luck.
Ilian

 

[GOTSOOT]

Kyle; I have some second hand info about doing this kind of swap. One of my friends just traded for a truck that had an auto,and went to a 6-speed,just the oposite of your intrest,never the less,he has to start the truck with a push button,because no one can figure out how to get the key to start it. these are the kind of problems that arise from this kind of swap. I know that many of these swaps are done with complete satisfaction,if I were you ,I would hunt me a truck with an auto. I too need an auto,but I will tough it out. My list of mods are too long to duplicate again. I need to come back over your house again to get some more fuel additive if you remember.

 

[Simplysmn]

Comming from someone with wasted knee's I would say buy a new or newer truck I have a 08 and love the 6 sp auto you won't look back trust me . As we get older we have to beable to walk to heck with shiftin gear's

 

[Sticks]

If you love your truck that much, and have a ton of disposable income (like $8k+), then do the swap with a DTT trans, or one that is built for the added power (nothing purple).

Otherwise, find another Dodge lover and sell her off as is, or strip the mods off and return to stock as much as possible, and sell the mods off separately.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Now What?

Ok, so it sounds like most say replace the truck, so if I do not want to strip the mods, and most of them can not be removed, how do I figure out what to sell her for?

Truck is a 2001 3500 dually 4X4 quad cab SLT Laramie with ALL options including leather/heated seats (Not an HO)

3:54 gears, 4 Wheel Disk, Alcoa wheels with new Michelins tires



Here is a list of upgrades thst I can remember. And don’t tell my wife!:-{}

DDII injectors

PDR HX 40 turbo

ATS exhaust manifold

FASS 150

Fluidampr

1/2 inch biodiesel friendly Fuel lines

Banks Intake Air Horn

HD intercooler connection hoses

Mega Cannon Proguard 7 air intake

Edge Comp with Stealth pump cover

Banks Monster exhaust with Extras

DSS steering upgrade

All four rotors drilled and slotted with extreme duty pads

Bluemhals new NV4500 transmission with large input shaft and cast iron tail housing

Short shift kit

South Bends OFE clutch and HD hydraulics

Fast Coolers on transmission and Temp gauge

Magtec pan or rear axle

3/4 air compressor with 10 gallon air tank (fully automatic to 125 psi)

DOT Train air horns

Air lift air bags on rear with in cab controls

Mile marker 9000 lb winch on front

Interior gauges, driver’s pillar, EGT, Boost, Trans Temp.

Dash top gauges Oil pressure, air pressure and fuel pressure

Shifter console gauges air bags left and right psi.

Stereo OEM Infinity with 6 disk CD changer and Sirius Satellite radio with permanent one time paid subscription.

CB with weather and K40 antenna.

5th wheel and Goose neck hitches

Prodigy brake controller

All fluids are synthetic except antifreeze and are regularly changed

Recent repairs

VP44 pump, water pump, hoses, Cam position sensor, Fluidampr replaced 1 year ago

4500 replaced 2 years ago with clutch.

Rear Axle replaced and rebuilt to upgrade to rear wheel disks in 2006 (OEM axle was drum brakes)

New Michelin tires January 2010

Current miles 250012, runs/drives better today than when I bought her



So what do you all think?

Kyle

 

[HBarlow]

My knees are also old and worn out and I now drive an automatic.

I agree with all the advice you received from other members above. Lot's of wisdom reflected in their posts. Modifying a complex modern truck with so many functions and features controlled by an ECM and/or PCM is expensive and challenging at best and it may be impossible to achieve perfect results like we expect from the factory.

Selling your truck and buying what you need is probably your best option. However and unfortunately, few used buyers are willing to pay for all the expensive modifications you have and some are simply not interested in a highly modified truck at any price.

A GenIII HPCR w/48RE will not stand up to the kind of modifications and power level you are accustomed to without a high dollar DTT upgrade as suggested by another member. Also, IMO, the HPCR engines, injectors in particular, don't seem to be as tolerant of modifications as earlier 12 valve or VP-44 24 valves.

My ISB6. 7 is a C&C w/Aisin so I don't have knowledge or experience with the new MOPAR six speed automatic. Most reports praise it very highly. The only one I know of that has failed belongs to TDR member 2Rowdy who has a highly modified 6. 7. He accepted his transmission failure with grace and simply said he expected it and paid for it to be repaired. My point is none of the later model trucks are likely to tolerate a long list of modifications without expensive failures.

 

[GCroyle]

Kyle,



PM Sent. I have one idea.



Gary

 

[Batphreak]

I would love to go the opposite way with my transmission, I've got an auto and a manual would just put me in heaven. I'd offer to trade you straight up since our trucks have similar mileage (my transmission only has about 60k on it, though). Problem is, my truck is bone stock and I doubt we could just switch all the mods over.

Enough of my whining. Selling your truck and getting what you really need is probably the best answer, it's probably what I'm going to have to do in a year or so.

 

[chipster]

Ok, so it sounds like most say replace the truck, so if I do not want to strip the mods, and most of them can not be removed, how do I figure out what to sell her for?

Truck is a 2001 3500 dually 4X4 quad cab SLT Laramie with ALL options including leather/heated seats (Not an HO)

3:54 gears, 4 Wheel Disk, Alcoa wheels with new Michelins tires



Here is a list of upgrades thst I can remember. And don’t tell my wife!:-{}

DDII injectors

PDR HX 40 turbo

ATS exhaust manifold

FASS 150

Fluidampr

1/2 inch biodiesel friendly Fuel lines

Banks Intake Air Horn

HD intercooler connection hoses

Mega Cannon Proguard 7 air intake

Edge Comp with Stealth pump cover

Banks Monster exhaust with Extras

DSS steering upgrade

All four rotors drilled and slotted with extreme duty pads

Bluemhals new NV4500 transmission with large input shaft and cast iron tail housing

Short shift kit

South Bends OFE clutch and HD hydraulics

Fast Coolers on transmission and Temp gauge

Magtec pan or rear axle

3/4 air compressor with 10 gallon air tank (fully automatic to 125 psi)

DOT Train air horns

Air lift air bags on rear with in cab controls

Mile marker 9000 lb winch on front

Interior gauges, driver’s pillar, EGT, Boost, Trans Temp.

Dash top gauges Oil pressure, air pressure and fuel pressure

Shifter console gauges air bags left and right psi.

Stereo OEM Infinity with 6 disk CD changer and Sirius Satellite radio with permanent one time paid subscription.

CB with weather and K40 antenna.

5th wheel and Goose neck hitches

Prodigy brake controller

All fluids are synthetic except antifreeze and are regularly changed

Recent repairs

VP44 pump, water pump, hoses, Cam position sensor, Fluidampr replaced 1 year ago

4500 replaced 2 years ago with clutch.

Rear Axle replaced and rebuilt to upgrade to rear wheel disks in 2006 (OEM axle was drum brakes)

New Michelin tires January 2010

Current miles 250012, runs/drives better today than when I bought her



So what do you all think?

Kyle

I`ve done swaps both ways, and both can be done to look AND drive like factory. find a shop that knows how to do these swaps, and have`em put in a trans( have dave gorend or some other quality rebuilder go through it), controller, shift linkage, and any other goodies needed (wire harness etc) out of the same year as your truck. If you really like your truck, and plan on keeping it, it`ll be a hell of a lot cheaper than a new truck. you already know all the good and not so good stuff about your truck, stick with it.

 

[Grizzly]

Get a new truck. There's a world of difference between a 2nd and a 3rd gen Dodge/Cummins. Don't get me wrong, I had a 2nd gen Dodge and it it was great, however the 3rd gen is much better. You might even consider a new 4th gen Dodge.



I've never done it, but swapping out a stick shift with an auto has to be nightmare.



george

 

[ALepley]

Want to trade?

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Doing a swap for me is no big deal, just finding the parts would be. I don;t know if some of you remember I built two 1991 Dodge Crew Cabs with a Cummins which included converting them to 4X4 and replacing the 360 V8 and automatic to a 5. 9 Cummins and a NV4500 and making it look factory. One fooled the Dodge dealer when they tried to find body parts after the first one was totaled. I still have some pictures in my readers rigs of the last one.

Does anyone know of a wrecked 2001/2002 I could get parts from?

As for a trade I need to stay with a 3500, Cummins, quad cab or 4 door, 4X4.

 

[DPrew]

You may want to check with TDR advertiser Blumenthal in OK. They are trans gurus and if they can't do the swap I bet they know who can. I'm sure there are some trans shops out there that can do the swap and make it look OEM. The bad news is the swap will likely cost more than the truck is worth.

I sold my 02' NV5600 back in December 09' and I can tell you to kiss all your mod money goodbye. I had $30K in mods on my 02' with 180K miles and about 13K was all I could wring out of it. With 230K most people are going to be leery about buying your truck at any price. I think you'd be lucky to get $6K out of it. Once you cross the 150K mark the value takes a hit and once you cross 200K it will scare most people away.

I would have loved to have seen how fast my 02' would have been bolted to a built $5000 auto trans and converter. With my final CFM & Spearco mod I probably easily eclipsed 500 hp and 1100 ft lbs. I think the high 13's in the quarter should have been a given with an auto. But that stock NV5600 took the extra power just fine with a little help from South Bend.

But I've got to tell you it's also nice to drive a new 09' with an auto & 6. 7. My 09' is faster 0-60 than my 02' that had twice the power. But hauling 18K up a hill from hell the 02' was more than twice as fast.

 

[Sticks]

This is why I have done my best to keep a hold of all the OEM engine parts that I have removed. Done that with every vehicle that I have tweaked. Granted I can probably only get half of what I spent for them, but it is better than taking the huge hit.

 

[JohnBoy5]

I say after reading all this KEEP THE TRUCK. sounds like you love it as much as i love mine. call dave goerend do some home work and get all the stuff you need. i am not sure how far abbleville is from charlotte but i would be willing to come give you a hand free of charge! While i have never done this i know these trucks inside and out and know it can be done. Then you also have a second option. keep your truck and use it for "work" related things and buy you a new CTD as a daily driver. One thing i can tell you is i would buy your truck in a heart beat and i would never sell mine. I like the first and second gen trucks the best. I have a friend that has 8 second gen trucks and 1 third gen truck. we all love the 2nd gen more then the third. all of his are automatics. they either have the 47rh or 47re depending on if its his 12 or 24 valve truck, he has both.



I have a goerend trans in my truck and this thing is tough and shifts awesome empty or loaded, driving easy or putting your foot in it. nothing phases it and it shifts right every time. now the factory 47re i had sucked you never knew what it was going to do and beside it will not hold up to the mods you have.



if you need a hand send me a PM and we can arrange it!

 

[firefighter_2000]

Keep the truck

Keep the truck, and find someone to trade transmissions with. Once you trade everything... . Shifters, column, dash panels, ecm's, etc etc etc... . THEN get you an ATS or Goerend Transmission.

Craig